


Bring Back the Child

by PhantomPhan16, VicenteValtieri



Series: Role Play Fanfiction [13]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Abandonment, Adoption, Cute, M/M, adoptio, loving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-17
Updated: 2017-09-17
Packaged: 2018-12-30 20:56:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12117087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhantomPhan16/pseuds/PhantomPhan16, https://archiveofourown.org/users/VicenteValtieri/pseuds/VicenteValtieri
Summary: When Starscream finds an infant human in the desert, his life is changed forever.





	Bring Back the Child

Starscream flew above the red gold desert miles over the Earth. Eventually, he landed on an outcrop of rock and smiled as the wind blew across his plating. "Ahh..." It was good to get away from the Nemesis.

There were human ruins to his right, but he never bothered with them, nor had he seen any humans around them. He hadn't been sitting their long when a cry reached him. He listened, trying to identify it. At first he wondered if it was danger only to realize it was of something very young... and in distress.

He stood up, frowning, and scanned for it. Eventually, he focused on a stand of four-wing salt bush. Parting the bushes with a single digit, he gasped. It was a baby. A human infant. His first instinct was to pick it up and cuddled it close. His second instinct to back away from the organic creature.

He settled for scanning the area for more humans. Why was a baby out here?

They were near the human city of Albuquerque. Perhaps someone was out having a trip and just... well that was a horrible thought.

He looked back down into the big, teary, blue eyes that looked pleading up at him. The babe wasn't afraid, but instead saw the Seeker as someone who might help, comfort and feed her.

"Oh, Primus. Please don't let me crush you... please don't let me crush you..." He reached into the bush with two digits with extreme care and gripped the baby by the soft pink fabric it was wrapped in. Laying it in his servo, he stared down at it with wide optics.

"You've got to be hungry, but... how can I feed you?"

Looking around, he bit his lipplates. "There has to be something on the internet. Hold on until i figure it out, little one." He carefully set the baby into his cockpit and closed it.

He quickly connected to the internet and began searching.

Molecular patterns and shapes spun past his optics as he searched. By the time he reached the Nemesis, he had an idea of what to do. He mixed up a beaker of substance identical to human "breast milk."

"Okay, lets see if this works, little one. I hope it does," he said as the baby began crying anew with hungry.

He picked up his smallest pipette and filled it with the white liquid. With the gentlest servos possible, he plucked the infant out, positioned it, and offered it the tip.

The famished little one latched on immediately, hungrily guzzling the milk.

"Be careful, or it will all come right back up." Starscream kept his optics on the pipette, not wanting to allow the babe to over-eat.

Once the baby had eaten enough he took the pipette away and gingerly positioned it on the edge of his servo and tapped its back delicately. The baby burped right as Megatron came in, looking for his Second.

"Starscream, what on Cybertron are you doing?"

Starscream turned quickly, hiding Cas behind his back. "Nothing, my Lord. Merely some chemistry. What do you require?"

"What are you hiding, Starscream?"

"Nothing, Megatron. Don't be ridiculous."

"Then show me what's behind your back."

Starscream stepped to the side, revealing the beaker of anonymous white fluid and the pipette.

"Do I even want to know what that is?"

"It's a simple sugar mixture. I'm experimenting."

"Hmph, very well. Prepare for a raid."

"A raid?" Starscream squeaked. "Now, my Lord?"

"Is that a problem, Starscream?"

"No, of course not, it's merely that we haven't had a strategy meeting."

"Our last strategy worked fine so we'll be using it again."

"If you call a resounding trouncing and an inglorious retreat 'fine.' I suppose there's nothing to argue with."

The tank growled. "Do as you're told, Starscream."

"Ugh." Starscream snarled. He turned around as the Tank left and looked down at the baby. "I can't carry you into combat. What if something happens to me?" He thought about it for a moment and shuddered. "You'd be little more than a mess... I have to find somewhere to put you so you'll be safe."

He looked around then decided on a pteri dish, without the lid obviously. He rocked the babe to sleep and gently lay her in it.

The gossamer-type padding cushioned the child perfectly. She slept peacefully in the dish as Starscream rushed away after the silver tyrant.

The raid, surprisingly, was moderately successful. They didn't everything they wanted, but they got a good chunk. Starscream hurried back to his quarters the moment he was dismissed. He still wasn't sure what to do. He couldn't hide the baby forever, and he was already feeling attached.

The child was still asleep when he returned and he cradled the petri dish as if it were the most precious thing in the world.

"Precious. That's it. Your name. Cas, it means 'precious'," he whispered.

Cas made a soft sound in her sleep and sighed, not waking.

Starscream smiled then sighed. "How am I supposed to do this? I can't hide you forever, and Megatron..."

He closed his optics and grimly shook his head. “Let’s just say he can’t find you.”

"I promise, I will protect you, from him, from any and every danger."

He raised the baby to his faceplates and gently rested it against his cheekstrut. “So we have to be careful.” Looking around his lab, he began thinking. He needed small tools. Lots of them. 

He began gathering the smallest tools he had and go through which ones would work and which wouldn't, though he found himself wishing he could make him human sized so he could truly cuddle his little Cas and take care of her.

His processor began mulling over just that sort of idea and he lit on an old project in the back of his processor.

"Hmm. That just might work." He went to work, as quietly as he could until his foundling woke and began crying, squirming in his blanket.

Starscream turned back to him. “What is it, Cas?” He offered the pipette again, but Cas didn’t want to take it.

He carefully opened the blanket to find the baby only a white thing over his lower parts. A human codpiece? He did a quick search. No a diaper, in which babies left their waste until they could use the toilet when older.

He physically could not do that with his bare digits. He had to use tweezers to pick apart the diaper and tiny sponges to clean the child. With that, he had to use a cloth square to make a diaper for the child. Of course, the benefit to this method was he could throw away most of the tools he had used.

Still the end result was the desired one. Cas was clean and re-daipered, and currently sucking on his fingers as she stared up at her new caretaker.

Starscream sighed and chirped to the child.

She smiled, her tiny body squirming with glee.

Starscream repeated the sound and added a trill. With coos and clicks, chirps and trills, he reduced his ward to helpless squeals of delight and adorable squirms.

He chuckled. "You're just a happy little thing, aren't you?"

Cas reached up to him with her tiny hands and Starscream smiled softly. “In a moment, love. I have to finish this.” With a final chirp, he turned back to the holomatter projector.

He was almost done. He had tried before to build it, but Megatron had ordered him to scrap it, saying they had no use for such a thing.

“Take this, you old scrapheap.” He muttered, sitting down to design his avatar. He decided to make it female and let the program take care of the details. When Cas needed social time with other humans, it would be least suspicious to be a mother with her child than a Father.

He studied Cas for a moment and chose blue eyes to match hers but a red auburn hair color to be more like his paint job.

For clothes, he settled on a stylish, but matronly, white set of slacks and blouse with red trim, blue gloves and blue three-inch heels. He finished it off with a black velvet bow tying her hair back. Hello, Aster.

Cas whined, wanting to be held. "Okay, lets try it and see if we can't have some proper snuggles."

He attached the projector inside his cockpit and activated it. His frame slumped in his chair as Aster materialized on the counter itself.

He looked himself over.

“Well, hello, me. I look good as a human female.” With a few clicks, he adjusted his vocalizer to sound more feminine. “That’s better.”

He picked up Cas and kissed her head. "Hello, baby."

Cas sniffed for a moment, confused to hear her caretaker’s voice coming from the stranger.

Starscream shifted so the baby could see his avatar face close to his real face. He had made the facial features the same for this reason.

Cas recognized him and reached out happily, giggling as Starscream cuddled her and kissed her little head.

"This is much better, isn't it, my little lunangel?"

 

Cas cooed and smiled at Starscream.

He smiled and rocked the baby gently. "I will protect you, I promise."

When Cas nodded off again, Starscream hit the internet again. If he was going to raise this child so that he could be a human and part of their society, he had to learn everything about human life. Everything.

There was a lot of controversy and arguing about what was right, wrong, acceptable, and taboo. What the best way to raise a child was, what you should and shouldn't do. Humans were a fickle and argumentative as Cybertronians.

From a practical stand-point, Cas needed to be a citizen of the USA and develop social skills through human contact. Starscream needed a way to leave Cas in someone’s care while he had to be on shift. This concept of “Daycare” seemed the best fit for his little one. 

He needed to create a life for Aster, as well, that way she wouldn't seem to appear out of nowhere.

As soon as he began delving into Aster’s birth, hacking into Social Security and giving her a number, filling in records, getting her a degree from a respected college for Physics and Chemistry, he began to feel surreal. It was almost like creating a character from the imaginative adventure games he used to love to play as a mechling.

The thought made him chuckled. Talk about feeling realistic. He finally finished and had bought a small house even on the edge of the nearest town which he could easily link a subspace door to so he could go between it and the Nemesis with ease and without having to take his mech form there and drawn attention. It was a modest, two bedroom and one and a half bath home that he could spruce up and make it his own for this purpose and in case he ever needed to order anything for Cas.

He chose Albuquerque because it was where he had found Cas. Ordering furnishings for the new home, he tapped into his human savings account. It was almost a game for the Decepticons to dabble with the human stock market.

“Now I have someone to actually spend it on," he said, stroking the baby's back.

Aster would also need a vehicle. He flipped through pages of cars, shaking his helm. Until he came across a silver Thunderbird that almost looked like it could fly. Perfect. He ordered one along with an infant carseat. Now Aster just had to go into San Diego to pick it up and drive it to Albuquerque. 

This would take time, and while he could leave his mech form somewhere along the way and then carry the car close to the house he still needed to get to San Diego believably and with Cas since he couldn't leave her for too long.

He tapped his fingers on the counter. This would be delicate… He had to leave his frame somewhere sheltered. Perhaps a warehouse or storage unit. Then, Aster was in peak physical condition and could run like a machine, she could get into San Diego itself and take a bus to get to the dealership.

He would have to carry Cas, somehow. He'd need to pick up the carseat on the way and maybe buy a stroller as well. Running with her wouldn't be the best idea, now that he thought about it.

Unless… He opened the internet again and found plans for a stroller designed to be pushed by a human moving at speed. A few improvements to the design here and there… and he found himself welding and padding a substantial little push-vehicle.

Cas was now awake and watching him, cooing and making cute little noises.

Starscream put the stroller into his subspace and picked Cas up delicately, placing her in his cockpit. “We’re going to get you a proper home soon, little one.” He promised the child.

He set off with a new determination.

The place he chose was an abandoned barn close to San Diego. Aster would have to push Cas only about ten miles before they would reach the nearest bus station.

The trip took time, and by the time they reached the outskirts of the city Cas was ready to be cool and fed, crying her misery at the heat and hunger.

The air conditioned bus was a relief and Starscream had packed along a vessel of milk for the little one to suckle on. He had packed enough supplies for the trip from San Diego to Albuquerque, so there was plenty for Cas to eat.

Cas, however, didn't take the bottle right away, howling at the top of her little lungs. "Goodness, she's not a happy camper is she?" said an old woman, smiling with sympathy and understanding Aster.

“No, she’s not at the moment.” Aster smiled back at her, bouncing and rocking Cas gently. “Too long in the stroller, I think.”

"Well the heat tends to make tempers run hotter, too, even in little ones. Mine were that way, and my grandchildren. I used to just rest the nipple against their cheek. See it would cool down with the milk in it, and they'd feel the coolness and go for it. I don't know if it would work with your little one, my oldest granddaughter never bought it, though her father did every time."

“I’ll try anything once.” Aster rested the nipple of the bottle on Cas’s cheek.

It filled with milk, and Cas slowly quieted then turned her head, seeking the cool, life-giving milk.

“Aww… there we go.” Aster smiled. “Better, isn’t it?” She looked up at the lady. “Thank you.”

"You're welcome, dear. This heat's no good for anyone, let alone the little ones. Be sure you keep him cool, but don't be putting anything over a stroller. It may act like shade but it traps heat." "Oh, that makes sense now that I think about it." The woman chuckled. "I know, sometimes you actually to have to think about something you'd think would be common sense. My name's Irene, by the way." "Aster, and this is Cas."

“Well, Aster, I hope you don’t mind my being nosy. What brings you into San Diego today?”

“Actually, Cas and I are on our way to Albuquerque. I’ve taken a position at Sandia Laboratories”- he hadn’t, but it was a good, vague job that he could reference at will. “And I’m just here to pick up a new car.”

"Quite a long way for a car."

“Well, up until now, we were at the university near here.” Aster explained. “But after eight years of that apartment, I think we’re both ready for a change.”

"Ah, understandable. I wish you luck in your new home. I hope this isn't too personal, but what about Cas's father?"

Starscream scrambled for a suitably disencouraging statement that wouldn’t seem odd. “We’re leaving him here.” He settled on.

"Ah, one of those then."

Aster nodded. "I don't like to think about him anymore." She turned her eyes forwards. They were almost at their destination.

"I'm sorry I brought up sore memories."

“It’s not your fault. Thank you, for the tip, and the conversation.” Aster buckled Cas back into the stroller. “I’m sorry we won’t meet again.”

“Oh, you never know, dear.” Irene waved as Aster carried the stroller down the bus steps. “Good luck.”

“Thank you." "God bless you, dear, and your little one."

“And you.” Aster waved as she began jogging down the street with Cas.

The car was as nice as he'd expected and drove smoothly back to where he had left his frame. The flight too much less time than it would have taken him to drive to the house from San Diego. He unlocked the door and stepped in. "This is home, baby girl. Shall we get started?"

Aster spent the rest of the day fielding men coming in with furniture. She had ordered a master bedroom set, one for a living room, a dining room, kitchen, living room- with appropriate entertainment suite-, and of course, a mass of boxes and packages for Cas, including a playset for the backyard.

Some neighbors came to say hello and offer help putting the things together, reaching out kindly to the young, single mother.

Aster and Cas settled in easily, shopping together at Whole Foods, jogging for miles through the winding neighborhood, and enjoying life. Aster did a lot of home improvement in addition to her jogging and took up Bonsai and Gardening as hobbies. She became more and more real with every passing day, especially to Starscream.

Before he could blink, little Cas was two and playing on the playground and in the sand pit at Rio Del Oso park.

Cas, of course, even young as she was, knew she couldn't ever talk about Mommy's "robot". "Mommy, doggie!" Aster turned to see a tall man playing with a Golden Retriever with a frisbee nearby. The man was tall, broad shoulder with short black-blue hair, a neatly trimmed beard, and bright blue eyes. The wind blew the frisbee close to the sand pit, and the dog ignored it in favor of going to sniff Cas. Starscream stiffened and hurried towards them. Not all dogs could be trusted around children. The man came jogging over. "Duke, here, boy!"

Duke barked over his shoulder at his master and licked Cas’s face. The little one had been eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich only moments before. Starscream chuckled, watching him clean Cas’s little face. It seemed his baby was in no danger.

"Ah, sorry about him, ma'am."

“It’s all right. No harm’s done. Aster, and this is Cas.” Aster introduced herself easily.

"I'm Alec, and this is Duke. He loves kids, as you can see."

Cas giggled and stood up, petting Duke. “Doggie, Mommy!”

“I see the doggy.” Aster cooed. “Remember, be nice to the doggy.”

“No pull.” Cas giggled, patting Duke’s side. She toddled over to the frisbee and picked it up, throwing it.

Duke trotted after it, tail wagging. "That was a good throw," Alec said, smiling.

Cas smiled back, nodding. “Good throw.” 

Aster chuckled and noticed the T-shirt Alec was wearing had the slogan for a 5-k run she and Cas had participated in as well. “You run races?” She asked.

"I do sometimes. What about you?”

“Cas and I do a lot of running together.” Aster nodded to the old jogging stroller. “It’s great exercise and helps her get to sleep.”

"Nice. She looks like she'll be quite the athlete." Cas was running, as best she could, with Duke chasing her playfully. "Gentle, Duke," he called to the dog.

Aster looked up at him. “How old is Duke?”

“Only about two years old. I found him wandering beside the highway while I was out driving.” Alec explained.

"Poor thing." 

Alec nodded. "He was so weak he couldn't even run from me, but he was afraid."

“Well, he looks much better now.” Aster watched as the glossy, fluffy dog ran with her child.

"He is. He likes being on the road with me. I'm a trucker, so we travel a lot."

"Is Albuquerque one of your stops or do you just pass through?"

"It's home base, actually."

"I see." Aster smiled as Cas rolled beside Duke in the grass. "We don't travel. At least, not yet."

"It all depends on where you travel to, I suppose. Some places aren't so great." "Very true. So... 'home base' baseball fan?" Alec chuckled. "Military, well former."

"Ah. I see. Air Force?"

"Marines, actually, from 29 Palms, moved here after I got out and took up private trucking, no big company just hauling for who will pay for a private driver."

“That must give you a lot of freedom.” Aster smiled after her daughter. “I have an eleven-to-five, unfortunately. Cas spends a lot of time in daycare.”

"I can't imagine raising a child alone."

"We manage." Aster shrugged. "It isn't easy, but life never is."

"Nothing worth having ever is," Alec replied.

Aster nodded, looking down at her watch. "Oh, fudgernutters, is that the time? Sorry to run off like this, but I have a loaf of bread in the oven. Cas!"

"But, Mommy..."

"We'll come back tomorrow, Cas, but we have to go now!" Aster turned back to Alec. "Will we see you around here again?"

"I certainly hope so."

Aster smiled. "I'll be looking out for you." Cas reached them, with Duke behind her, Frisbee hanging out of his mouth. "Say bye to Alec and Duke, Cas."

She waved a little hand as Aster picked her up. "Bye-bye."

"Good bye, Cas. Good bye, Aster."

"Good bye, Alec." Aster waved as she strapped Cas into the stroller and gripped the handle, feet beginning to pound the sidewalk as she headed for their cul de sac.

She hurried into the house, let Cas down, and rushed to get the bread.

She was just in time to pull the golden-brown loaf out of the oven. "Smells good, doesn't it, Pumpkin?"

"Uh-huh!"

"We'll let it cool and have that with dinner." Aster scooped Cas up and kissed her.

"Okay, Mommy!" So far Megatron and the others were still unaware of his daughter.

And it would stay that way, dammit! He was too careful for them to ever learn!

Even if they found out he'd rather go to the Autobots then let them near his baby. He'd go and tell every little dirty secret and weakness he knew just to see Megatron fall for threatening his child.

So long as Cas was safe and happy, he didn't care what happened.

"Mommy, I hungwy."

"I know, honey. Want some celery and onion dip?" Aster opened the refrigerator. She didn't need to eat, but to preserve the illusion of humanity, she did have the capability to at least swallow food and drink and then expel it later.

Cas seemed to understand, in a way, but never asked about it. She munched on her snacked as she watched cartoons for a bit.

Aster watched Cas with a smile on her face as she went about making dinner for Cas: Chicken breast with peas and quinoa.

So far life had been good for them.

Their closest neighbor, Ms. Evelyn, loved having Cas over at her home. She watched Cas when Starscream had an emergency he had to attend to. She understood the nature of his work without asking what it was.

She was middle-aged woman that Starscream could only describe as a true Southern Woman. She was kind, warm, motherly, always had an open heart for the needy and an open kitchen he swore sometimes. No one left her home hungry. She been a child during the Civil Rights Movement and, even as a child, had seen the man who now a legend in American History, Martin Luther King Jr. before his untimely death. She would put it, "I've seen the nasty side of the country, Aster, but I've also seen the best. I've seen my father beat down for the color of his skin, and I've seen men and women come alongside each other as brothers and sisters regardless of their skin."

Cas was absolutely hypnotized by her and her collection of trinkets and knick knacks, including a massive sheepskin rug.

It was old but still soft. Cas loved to lay on it. It smelled of a sweet, flowery perfume, and the tot just adored it. Evelyn taught Starscream several of her family recipes for good, comfort, southern cooking. Smelling them made Starscream wish he could truly eat them.

Aster’s sense of taste was dull and made everything slightly acrid. Still, Cas loved the recipes when Starscream made them as treats. 

Cas loved the gumbo and chicken and dumplings the most.

Starscream made both fairly often in the winter. When it was cold, Cas needed her energy.

There was something else that stood out about Evelyn. Her unshakeable faith in the Earth religion Christianity. It amazed Starscream after all the hardship she must have seen through her life after his search on the country's history that she was so firm in the idea of a loving God. He often wondered about Primus, himself. Why allow his creation to cause such chaos and destruction upon their world and themselves?

But he respected the woman’s faith, even if he didn’t understand it. Aster took Cas with her and Ms. Evelyn to the Church and Sunday School just past their favorite park every week. 

Cas loved it, and Starscream at first didn't really pay that much attention to the sermens, though he half listened.

Aster called Cas to the table when the food was done and put her tiny fork into her hand. “Eat up, little one.” He told her, smiling.

Cas then did something she hadn't done before. She set down her fork, folded her hands, bowed her head, closed her eyes, and began to speak. "Dear Jesus, tank for this food and for my Mommy. Keep Mommy safe at work tomowow. Amen."

Starscream’s spark fluttered and he kissed her head. “Thank you, sweetheart. Now eat your dinner.”

"Yes, Mommy." She eagerly dug in.

Starscream put her dessert- a small cream puff, on a plate for her to have after she finished eating. Then, once dinner was over, it was time for a bath and into her flannel onesie for the rest of the evening.

"Do you want a story or a song tonight?" "Song!"

Starscream held her close and began singing a celtic lullaby that sounded almost like Seeker. 

She was asleep halfway through. He tucked her in and kissed her head.

Going to the master bedroom, he tucked himself into the large bed and sighed. There was only one thing missing really. And it was something he just couldn’t have in this fantasy. Closing his optics, he went to recharge.

It was a week before they saw Alec and Duke again.

It was in the same park at the same time. Alec was sitting on the bench that Aster parked her stroller beside when they came. Duke was laying at his feet, panting after the run to the park. He wagged his tail when he saw Cas, eating her sandwhich in the stroller.

"Awec! Duck!" she squealed through the sticky peanutbutter... sort of.

“Hello, Cas.” Alec chuckled. Duke hoisted himself up and went to the stroller, still wagging and waiting for the bread’s crust to drop.

"Duke, no begging," the man scolded, tugging the hound's leash lightly.

Duke whined, coming back to his master.

Alec scratched behind his ears. "You know better, silly boy. You can play with her after she eats, but that's her food, not yours."

Aster unbuckled Cas so she could climb out when she finished her sandwhich. “Hello, Duke.” She scratched his ears. “Hello, Alec. How have you been?”

"Good. I took a shipment of lumber to to the coast for a new set of houses going up, but nothing really interesting. We stayed a couple days and enjoyed the beach."

“To the California area?”

“The one that was attacked by Decepticons, yeah.” Alec sighed, lips twisting. “Let’s not talk about that.”

Starscream felt a flash of guilt. “Well, I would tell you what I did this week, but then I’d have to kill you.” He quipped, hoping to cheer Alec up.

The man grinned. "Oh, that hurts, Aster. Really."

“Heh.” Aster popped open her water bottle. “Seriously, though, it was boring stuff. Equations and experiments.”

"You'd get along with a friend of mine."

“Is he an engineer as well?”

"Sort of, and a scientist."

"Ah. More of a researcher or more of an inventor?"

"Inventor for sure."

"I'm a little more of a researcher." Aster looked up as Cas clambered down from the stroller and Duke's tail wagged when he saw her messy face.

He caught his baby and wiped her face.

Duke gave a sigh and Alec finally let him off the leash to play with Cas.

He scampered to the top and nuzzled her. "Duke really seems to like Cas."

“He remembers that first sandwhich she had on her face. They share a bond that cannot be broken now.” Alec pitched his voice low and spooky then he tipped his head back and laugh, low and hearty.

Aster snorted. "Goofball." She sighed, propping herself up on the bench and watched Cas and Duke playing. The wisteria tickled the back of her neck with its tendrils and the scent of its flowers was just strong enough that Starscream could smell it too.

"Well seeing as I was raised a gentleman, is it too forward to ask that I treat you two ladies to a meal? Your choice, my treat."

"Well, if you're asking so nicely, it wouldn't be polite to say "no." Why don't we ask Cas what she wants to eat? I don't really have an opinion."

"All right. Have you had lunch or would dinner be better?"

"We had lunch a bit earlier. Cas was just finishing hers."

"So dinner then."

"That sounds great."

Cas eagerly suggested burgers.

Alec agreed. "I know a nice little place that you two will enjoy."

"Yay!" He scooped her up and tickled her, making her squeal.

Aster smiled as she watched the two interacting. Alec was a gentleman and had a nack with kids.

If only... he thought to himself.

Alec knew a little burger place called Rex's and the food was amazing for what it was, burgers and fries. They sat outside on the porch and Cas dug in eagerly. Aster was a little more picky about how she handled the meal, using cutlery instead of her fingers.

Alec ate with his hands but also with manners at the same time.

"I get the feeling this isn't your scene." He smiled at Aster.

"Am I that obvious?" 

"I don't know anyone else who eats hamburger and fries with a fork and knife."

Aster looked down at the utensils and shrugged. "I don't like touching food with my fingers, no."

Alec wiped his own on a napkin. "I think I know a place you'd like for dessert

"Oh? Where?"

"Oh, but that would spoil the surprise."

She smiled back. "Very well."

Alec took them to a coffee and dessert shop called the Flying Star. 

Aster stared. Was it just a coincedince?

Cas giggled at a funny statue of a man with his foot under a heavy gear. It was made out of scrap iron from cars.

"That just looks painful," Aster said.

“But there is something funny about it.” Alec smiled. “Come on, Cas. What kind of cake do you like?”

"What is there?"

"Everything under the sun." Alec held the door open. True to his word, most of the counter was taken up by a glass case containing every kind of dessert imaginable.

Cas chose the butterscotch cake.

Alec chose a chocolate monstrosity with raspberries and Aster took a fruit tart with soft vanilla cream.

Slowly their meetings became more frequent, and Alec even joined them at church one Sunday.

"What should I do?" Alec questioned Aster as the service began.

"You can follow along or just sit. Take your pick, no one will mind either way."

Alec looked around at the people worshipping, many with hands raised, some swaying to the music, some with their eyes clothes, fully devoted to the song and the lyrics.

Aster merely stood at attention and devoted her voice to the music, enjoying its depth and the rhythm.

Her voice was beautiful... enchanting even.

And something about it was familiar, as if he had heard her before, in the night, or in a dream. It seemed the kind of voice that would invade one's dreams when singing for joy or pain.

He couldn't have heard it before, though. It was impossible.

The song ended and the Sermon began. The topic was the Battle of the Amelekites, specifically focusing on how Aaron had supported Moses' arms so the staff wouldn't fall.

The loyalty of Aaron and Hur as they stood for hours and held up Moses arms rather than actively fighting alongside their people, and the faith of the Israelites in God's promise of their victory struck something in Starcream.

It reminded him of how Megatron, Soundwave, and himself used to be.

How had it all gone so wrong?

Aster shivered slightly and Alec shot her a look of concern.

He leaned in. "All right?" he whispered.

"I'm fine. Sermon's touching a heartstring." Aster whispered back, waving it off.

He sat back and listened.

After Sunday School, Ms. Evelyn joined them for coffee and homemade macarons at Aster's home.

Cas played with her toys on the living room floor.

"Are these homemade?" Alec questioned, sampling the delicate cookies.

"Yes, sir, they are. My mother's recipe," Evelyn said.

"They're delicious." Alec had a third. "I'd better stop before I eat the whole plate."

"So... You're Aster's young man?" Ms. Evelyn pushed the plate further towards him.

"What?!" they both yelped, blushing.

"Or is it not official yet?"

"It's not like that," Aster said.

"Oh, I must have misread the situation." She smirked.

Aster glared at her, and Alec blushed. "I should get going so I can take Duke for a walk."

"Isn't it time for your run with Cas, Aster?"

"Evelyn, stop your meddling," she scolded lightly.

Evelyn shrugged. "That's like asking a bird not to fly." She smiled, sitting back. "Have a nice run, Alec."

"Thank you, Ms. Evelyn." He nodded to Aster and hugged Cas before leaving.

Aster glared at her neighbor. "Why did you chase him out?"

"Ah. I didn't chase him out. I made him think about how your relationship really stands."

"There is no relationship, Evelyn! He's a friend!"

"That's how it starts, dear."

"Oh, Evelyn..." Aster sighed, sitting back down. "I am not on the market in any way, shape or form."

"Love doesn't read those signs, honey."

Aster gave her a peeved look.

"All right, all right. I should go anyway."

“Thanks for the macarons, Evelyn.” Aster sighed. “Cas, say bye-bye.”

She hugged the woman. "Bye!" she chirped.

“Good-bye, Cas.” Evelyn kissed her hair. “Aster, when you get tired of taking Cas to that daycare, my offer still stands. I’d be delighted to look after Cas.”

"Thank you, Evelyn." She nodded and left.

Cas toddled to her mother and latched onto her be-slacked leg. “Momma?”

Aster shook her head. She and Alec were friends and would stay friends.

“Momma!” Cas snapped her out of her trance.

"Ah! What, baby?"

“Wan go run with ‘Lec and Duke!”

She sighed. "Okay, let me change."

Cas clapped her hands, waiting beside her stroller with impatience as Aster threw on her running clothes, picked up her sunglasses, and laced her shoes.

They carried on a usual for a while more, but soon Cas was trying to get them together as well. She really loved Alec and clearly thought her mommy did too, or should anyway.

They did spend a lot of time together and they were compatible- highly. Starscream agonized over the idea that it wouldn’t be fair to Alec to bring him into a relationship with a holomatter avatar, though. No matter how much like a human Aster acted, felt, smelled, and looked like, she wasn’t really real.

But when Alec planted a kiss his resolve crumbled.

It turned out that Aster was real enough to interface with a human without being discovered. 

They began dating, and finally Alec asked her to marry him.

Aster accepted. And at four years old, Cas finally had a stepfather.

Aster carefully wove a story of damage from Cas' birth that left her unable to have more children to explain the lack of pregnancy to her husband.

Alec was more than content with Cas, though, and Cas, for her part, kept them very busy.

As she grew she blossomed. She was an avid horse rider and soccer player and took singing lessons as well as studying art more closely than any other subject in school.

Aster encouraged her to pay attention to science and math as well, though she did love her daughter's art. Alec would swing her up onto his shoulder to hang the masterpieces on the walls.

Of course it wasn't long before he didn't need to lift her so she could hang her art. As Decepticon activity decreased over the years so did Aster's time as Starscream.

She still had her shift everyday. It would be weird if she didn't go to work- as the bread-winning parent, but the "emergencies at work" slowed to a near stop.

Before she knew it Cas was in high school and transforming from girl to young woman through puberty. Her body filled out and took on the grace of a woman, her hair was long and flowing, a vibrant chestnut brown, and her sapphire eyes shone with confidence.

And Aster's heart sank as she looked forwards and knew, one day. Her child would be an adult, and leave. It was time to tell Cas the truth about Aster and about the long-faded memories of "Mommy's Robot."

Cas came home in a rush, looking over the moon. "Jason asked me to Prom!" she squealed the minute she walked into the living room to greet her mother, who had taken the day off.

"That's great, honey." Aster smiled. "I'm so glad for you." She sat up, laying aside her book. "Cas, I want to show you something. Put your backpack in your room."

"Okay, Mom." She practically floated to her room and soon returned.

Aster led her out into the garage and pulled out her key ring. "Do you want to drive the Thunderbird?" She offered her daughter the keys.

"Mom, really? You've never let me drive the Thunderbird!"

"Well if you don't want to..." 

"Of course I do!"

Cas grabbed the keys and scampered to the driver's side. Aster laughed and slid into her sports car. Ever since Cas had grown too big for the cramped back seat, they had drove a Honda Accord, or Alec's pick-up truck.

"Okay, where are we going, Mom?"

"Outside the city. Go to the interstate and I'll tell you where to get off."

"Um... okay..." She obeyed, driving with care as always.

Aster guided her down a dirt road and out to an old property where Starscream stashed his frame whenever he was Aster. He had bought it, and put up a large fence, so no one bothered him.

"I... Mom, I think... I remember this place... sort of... like... a memory from a dream."

"You were only here once, so that's not surprising." Starscream had her pull up in front of the single building on the land: A large barn.

"Why are we here? Mom, what's going on?"

"Come inside." Aster pushed open the barn door, it screeched and struggled on its track. "There's something I have to show you."

Cas hesitated then followed her mother.

Aster vanished before her eyes and, at the far end of the barn, a pair of red optics onlined. Starscream stood up with care, the barn barely tall enough for him. He spoke to Cas with Aster's voice. "Don't be afraid."

She backed up and tripped, falling. "W-What? M... Mom?"

Starscream reached out and gently set her on her feet. "Yes, Cas. I... My name is Starscream. But I'm also Aster."

"You're... you're a Transformer?" He nodded, and she saw the brand. "You're a Decepticon?"

Starscream winced at the fear in her voice. "Yes. I am."

She backed away again, trembling. "This... this can't be real."

"It is." He reached out for her. "Please, Cas... I know this is a shock. I've been keeping my true nature from you because I wanted you to have a normal life."

"Normal... what about my real parents?"

Starscream sighed. "Cas... I found you in the desert. You were abandoned, near White Sands. I- I couldn't just leave you there."

"... Does Dad know?"

"No."

"You have to tell him. He deserves to know."

"Cas-" 

"If you can tell me then you can tell him."

Starscream thought about it for a long moment. "... What if he doesn't want me anymore after I tell him?"

"Then you at least stopped letting him live in a lie."

"Is it better to tell a kind lie or reveal a painful truth..." Starscream mused, sighing. "... Fine. You're right. I should tell him."

A few minutes later Alec called, coming home from a haul, and Cas had him follow her cell signal. They heard his semi pull up, and he soon came into the barn.

Starscream almost wanted to giggle at his frozen expression, staring up at the Seeker, but was too frozen to speak or move.

"Dad?" He snapped out of it, looked almost wildly at his daughter then up at Starscream. His expression turned regretful. "I'm sorry, Cas." "What are you-" He disappeared, and seconds later Optimus Prime plowed through, tackling Starscream.

Starscream shrieked in shock and wrestled back, surprised by the Prime's sudden appearance.

The convoy flung him off, grabbed Cas, and transformed around, racing away as fast as he could.

Starscream's scream became one of anger. How dare-! He transformed into a jet and tore after them both.

He rammed Optimus, sending him rolling. He returned to mech form and shielded Cas with his servos as he tumbled then set her down. "Run!"

Starscream snatched Cas up and held her close. "I have not raised this child for seventeen years to see you or anyone else take her from me!" He screamed at the convoy.

"You WHAT?! Oh... A... Aster?"

Starscream's vents heaved, processor running over the series of events. "...Alec?"

The Prime gave a slow, stunned nod.

Starscream's optics widened and his jaw dropped.

"Primus has a sense of humor it seems, that of everyone it would be us," Optimus said.

"Indeed." Starscream set Cas on his shoulder with care.

"Did I hurt you?" "Nothing self-repair won't fix. You?" "Same. Cas, are you... all right?" "Trying to process this, but I'm not hurt."

Starscream chirped to Cas and looked up at the convoy. "So..."

"... I don't think I can be surprised ever again after this one," the semi said, trying to lighten the mood.

Starscream's lips quirked into a smile. "No, definitely not. Well... Where do we go from here?"

"Pray the war comes to an end soon? This doesn't change how I feel, Starscream, now there's just another side of you to know and love."

Starscream nodded, reaching up to touch Optimus's faceplates. "I never imagined..."

"Neither did I. I take it your shifts at Sandia Labs were actually-"

"My shift on the Nemesis. Yes." Starscream confirmed. "And your hauls to and fro...?”

"Duties and battles." He smiled. "And occasionally an actual haul."

The Seeker nodded, lips quirking into a smile as well. "Well... I suppose we should go home. Cas has a date to the Prom." He turned and began walking back in the direction of the barn.


End file.
